Underground Champloo
by OctoberMourning
Summary: Set in modern times the trio attend high school together & are members of an underground fighting ring. Fuu is Jin & Mugens manager & shes already booked their first fights of the semster! Now they're off to SanFrancisco after Sara to stop a takeover plot
1. Miss Fuu

Underground Champloo

Chapter One: Miss Fuu

"You got something you wanna say, bitch?" the angry voice of a teenager resonated through the halls. He was standing over the form of a cowering boy picking up spilled papers from the floor.

"No, I'm sorry to have offended you…" The younger boy stammered helplessly.

"That's right. Just because you're in the student council, doesn't mean that you can boss me around!" The teenager picked up the boy by the scruff of his neck, and smiled through his dirty blonde locks.

The crowd surrounding the pair in the halls gasped, waiting for the first blow. The older student were more used to incidents like these, so the crows was comprised mostly of first and second years. The older students and other fighters simply hurried by too occupied with other pressing matters.

The blonde bully raised his hand, formed a fist and-

"Drop him!" A high voice full of confidence and authority sounded behind him in the crowd.

It was a voice the crowd recognized, and some of them scattered. A young girl stood in the space that they had created. She was short, about 5'4'', with brown hair and bangs scattered messily about her face, the rest tucked under a pink yarn-knitted beanie. Her sleeveless baby doll dress was a darker shade of pink with black buttons on either strap. Underneath was a white tee with mid length sleeves, on her legs was a pair of pink thigh length golf socks, her hands had pink wool knitted open fingered gloves and her shoes were black knee high lace up boots. To top it all off, around her neck she had a chocker with one of her classic symbols, a flower.

Despite her pink, young and innocent appearance, everyone around her seemed to be afraid of her sudden appearance.

She squinted her large brown eyes at him. "Well?" She asked.

The boy still hadn't put down his victim. He squinted his eyes at her in turn, but in confusion at her defiance of him.

The boy in his hands gasped, "Fuu!"

Suddenly his assailant understood. He dropped the boy and spun around to face Fuu.

"I don't recognize you, so you must be new around here." Fuu began. "Save your aggression for the ring." She warned him.

The smaller boy picked up his papers and dashed away through the crowd.

"Your Fuu? Huh, funny, your not what I expected."

She took a step closer. "You got something you wanna say?" Fuu asked with hands on hips.

"No!" He raised his hands and looked around in the crowd nervously. "No, I'm sorry Miss Fuu." He raced away down the hall, all the while looking around and behind him.

Fuu sniffed and turned on her heels, making the chains on the corner of her skirt jingle. What a way to spend her lunch hour, she thought.

Everyone around school knew who Fuu was. Everyone knew what she did, and to stay on her good side. She was one of the most feared, respected, and revered girls around. But it wasn't for her fighting skills; it was for the people she knew.

"Hey, you!" A gruff voice sounded to her left.

Fuu turned her head, "Oh, hey Mugen." She smiled and hurried over to him.

Mugen was leaning casually against a row of lockers when she approuched. He was probably the only person that could get away with talking to her the way he did. Mugen could talk to any student the way he wanted really, considering his reputation. Because of that reputation, he was one of the main reasons for Fuu's hierarchy.

"So, am I on for tonight?" He asked.

"Yup, at nine." she chimed.

"Good, I'm itching for a fight." Mugen flexed his scrawny arm.

Despite his scrawny appearance, Mugen was a top ranked fighter in the underground. Fighting was the only thing he cared about, obvious from his unshaven chin, messy hair, and tattered attire of khaki cargo pants, black Adida's, dirty white long-sleeved tee and red stuffed high neck vest.

He had his own fighting style, his weapon of choice being a sword. That wasn't uncommon, but his skill without formal training was. Everything he knew was based off experience on the streets.

"What about Jin?" He asked.

"Jin will be entered into a different tournament starting in a few days. So to answer your question, you wont be fighting him." Fuu smiled, reading his mind perfectly.

"Damb you girl…"

"Any way, I need to tell him about it, so lets go." She started toward the cafeteria, expecting Mugen to follow.

"Why do I have to go?" Mugen whined.

"Because I also need food, and you're going to pay for it." She said innocently without changing her expression.

Mugen growled but followed.

Fuu's relationship with the two fighters was originally business based. The two had fallen into debt with Fuu, after her paying thema large favor. Jin and Mugen had agreed to pay thier debt by keeping Fuu as their manager in the Underground Champloo, despite their hate for each other. She was money smart, cute, a good liar, and manipulative. She was perfect to be their manager for the underground. She booked their fights, tournaments, handled the financials and talked to other fighter's people. Fuu is what they call a Boss. Besides Jin and Mugen she did business with a few other fighters on a less strict basis. No one messed with Fuu unless they wanted to mess with her fighters.

Despite this, Fuu had to make sure that she had one of her fighters with her at all times when dealing with other Bosses, because most of the other Bosses were fighters themselves. Fuu had no fighting skills of her own, and her cute and delicate appearance did nothing to mislead anyone.

The three had grown to have a relationship beyond the ring. The two boys had grown to consider each other close friends, even though they were still prone to vicious fights and frequent arguments. They both respected Fuu even if they didn't show it, but also liked her as a person and friend. Even without physical strength, Fuu had been their to get them out of scrapes, simply because she cared, more times than anyone knew. Most other Bosses would let their fighters learn their lessons the hard way. Fuu was too kind hearted for that.

They found Jin in the cafeteria line buying lunch. He looked rather meek, standing there with his long black hair and glasses. Unlike Mugen, Jin cared about his appearance. His hair was pulled neatly into a low ponytail, and his face was clean-shaven. His blue button down collared shirt was ironed with clean jeans and shined leather brown fashion tennis shoes.

"Hi, Jin!" She greeted with a warm smile.

"Hey." Mugen nodded.

"Hello, Fuu." He looked down at her.

Fuu was now holding his arm. "Hey, what looks good?" She asked, grabbing a tray and casually cutting in line in front of Jin.

"Aren't you going to eat?" Jin looked at Mugen.

"I can't afford to now that I'm paying for little Miss Bottomless Pit!" Mugen accused.

"Oh don't worry;" Fuu assured with a laugh, "Ill share!"

The three continued down the line and sat at an empty round folding table. Fuu explained to each the conditions and regulations of their up coming fights.

"Sounds easy enough." Jin said between bites.

"Yeah, some quick cash!" Mugen exclaimed.

"Well, I'm glad your excited, because your first fight is tonight, remember? And its mixed art."

"That just makes it more fun."

"Meet at my place?" Asked Mugen.

"Yup." Nodded Fuu, "From their we'll take a taxi."

"I'll be there." Assured Jin.

Authors Note: Let me know how you like it and give me a review. A few more chapters are due before I consider contnuing or not.

Thanks for reading.


	2. The Underground

Underground Champloo

Chapter 2: The Underground

That evening, the trio huddled into the back seat of a taxi and made their way down town. They were on their way to the shopping district, where an abandoned warehouse basement had been converted into an arena. They stopped the taxi a few blocks down the street and walked the rest of the way.

When they reached their destination, Jin and Mugen let Fuu take the lead. This was the first time they had been to this particular hideout, and only Fuu knew where they were going. She hopped a fence at the back of the building and went in through a back door past a guard. She continued down a flight of stairs to the basement. while still on their descent of stairs, throbbing music could already be heard from the depths below them. It was the familiar pumping rythum of underground hip-hop. Once the doors opened, over head lights glared and the heat of a hundred people greeted you. People wore a wide range of clothing, from fighters in traditional garb, casual ware, street fashion, goth or punk attire, and girls wearing hardly anything.

Inside the massive warehouse basement there was a square ring in the middle about the size of a basketball court. Around the ring were the seats for spectators, and behind them, an open area. Food booths and bet tables crowed the left over space. The gang made their way to the side of the ring where the Bosses seats were saved.

A girl at a bet booth nearby waved to Fuu.

"Miss Fuu! Good to see you again!" The girl was commonplace, but she was an old acquaintance of Fuu's.

Fuu smiled back to the bubbley teen and waved politely. Fuu knew most of the young female bookkeepers because that's where Fuu had gotten her start in Underground Champloo. She had first seen Jin and Mugen as fighters, and learned their names from the bets placed on them. Thats also where she had learned of their misfortuned of being arrested by and underground cop.

When the group moved towards the seats, the seas literally parted. Anyone who had been standing around before now hurriedly moved to make way for Fuu, Jin and Mugen.

They were quite a sight, with Fuu walking confidently towards her saved seat at he side of the ring. Mugen and Jin followed behind her on either side in bodyguard style attitude. When they reached the row of padded seats, Fuu sat and Jin took the empty chair to he right.

Mugen placed a hand on Fuu's shoulder, "I'm gonna check in back stage." He jabbed a thumb at the double doors at the opposite end of their stair entrance.

"OK, but don't start any trouble with the other fighters before it starts, you hear me?" Fuu pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes in warning.

"I got it! Geez, don't treat me like a kid." He turned to leave.

"She wont have to once you stop acting like one." Mumbled Jin.

Mugen turned right back around. "What did you say, tight ass?" He raised his fist.

"Hey! Cut it out, guys." Fuu warned, glancing around embarrassed.

Jin lowered his voice, but continued with his attack on Mugen. "Fuu shouldn't have to remind you of such simple matters, but the fact is that you still can't be trusted to behave." Jin explained, peering at Mugen over his glasses.

"Stop talking about me like I'm a dog!"

"Your not a dog." Jin stated flatly.

Mugen was obviously taken aback by his comment, evident by his confused expression.

"You're a child," he corrected, "and Fuu acts more like your mother than your Boss." Jin spat the whole thing out in one breath with a stone expression of scorn.

Mugen's expression returned to its aggravated state. "She isn't my mother or my Boss!"

"SHUT UP!" Fuu yelled.

The whole area around her stopped cold.

"I don't want to hear another peep out of either of you! I'm not your mother, and I don't want to be! So go check in backstage, Mugen. So you can win this freaking thing…." Fuu pointed to the earlier described doors, much in the way a mother would send a child to their room.

"But-" Mugen tried again.

"Stop arguing! Our stomachs are at stake here, Mugen! Don't let us down."

Mugen gave up at the remembrance of his stomach, and calmed down He huffily walked to the backstage door.

Just when Jin was sure of his verbal victory over Mugen, Fuu spun around in her seat to face him.

"And you!" She accused in a hushed scolding tone, "Stop antagonizing him! You are no better at times…" Jin didn't respond and she didn't expect one, so she just faced forward and folded her arms with a pout.

A smooth female voice suddenly drawled behind them, "Well, Fuu. Having trouble with your men again, I see? You really don't give a good image for us women Bosses."

Fuu and Jin turned to see Budoukiba's cleavage staring them in the face.

"Miss Budoukiba…" Fuu frowned as she greeted her fellow Boss.

Budoukiba, like most Bosses, were older than the high school fighters, possibly still in her thirties. Her face and shape of body suggested otherwise, with no hint to an age past mid twenties. Her recruited fighters ranged from young high school boys to her husband, Sakonshougen, whose age was assumed the same as her own.

"You really are so young Miss Fuu." The woman's eyes sparkled with amusement, "Your inexperience and immaturity shows too easily in the way you handle your men."

"Do you have someone competing? Or are you here just to chat with me?" Fuu asked bluntly.

"I'm just amazed that you became a Boss at all." She sighed, putting her hand to her mouth in a mock attempt to cover a laugh. The provocative woman slowly walked away to another seat, her full length dress fluttering as she swayed her rounded hips.

Fuu followed her with her eyes, cheeks puffed in aggravation.

"Huh, you know she didn't bring Sakonshougen on purpose, just because she knows he likes me. She brought some other goons instead!" Fuu vented.

Fuu had held a sort of grudge against the woman, simply for the thing that she did best. She dripped sex, and used it to her advantage at everything she did. Fuu's dislike turned to hatred when she at one point had tried to steal away Jin and Mugen.

Jin was sitting quietly and simply grunted in response.

"Do you think she saw the whole thing? With you and Mugen I mean?"

Jin grunted again with a shrug.

"This is why you two need to behave and get over your silly little rivalry."

Jin gave the same response.

"God, I hate it when you get like this…" Fuu mumbled in disappointment.

Suddenly, the lights dimmed in the arena and the announcements began.

"Ladies, and gentleman! Welcome to tonight's Underground Champloo tournament for all arts!" The load speaker rang.

Fuu and Jin had to wait two fights before they got to Mugen. His first opponent was a new guy from another school. The fight ended quickly, with Mugen's victory by way of knock out. His next opponent was to be announced at the second part of the tournament in two days time. Mugen rejoined Jin and Fuu, and stayed for the rest of the fights.

The last fight of the night was between a young blind woman and another samurai. Her weapon of choice was a Kama-Yari. She used it very skillfully, and defeated her opponent at the end of the round in points.

"She's not too bad, for being blind." Mugen rejoined the group.

"Yes," Jin agreed, "she seems to have had formal training like myself, unlike most of the others in the Champloo."

"You can't even tell she's blind when she fights." Fuu stood to walk out of the warehouse.

"I wonder how she would do against a stronger samurai." Wondered Jin, "I don't think she's capable of winning outside of points."

"That did seem to be her strategy." Agreed Fuu again, "To use her long staff to keep them at a distance after she cut them up a bit. I want to see who her Boss is, with her being new and all. I want to see if her boss is new too." Fuu mused.

"Maybe she belongs to Miss Budoukiba? Wouldn't that just make your day?" Mugen laughed.

"So you saw her?! You jerk…" Fuu pouted.

"No, Budoukiba only deals with men, she doesn't easily make friends with other women." Jin pointed out.

"Yeah. I guess we just have to wait and see, guys."

"Don't worry about it, I can take her." Mugen smirked in confidence.

Fuu sighed in exasperation, but she couldn't help but smile too. She was confident in Mugen's ability as a fighter.

Jin only grunted.

Authors Note: Thank you for reading, review if you enjoyed it, review still if you didn't. Let me know! Your time is appreciated.

OctoberMourning


	3. Sara

Underground Champloo

Chapter 3: Sara

"Holy crap it's freezing!" Complained Mugen, "My balls are gonna fall off…"

"Mugen, please!" Fuu squealed. "You should have dressed warmer."

"We live in California! I shouldn't have to own a stinking winter coat out here!"

"Well, your freezing appendages are telling you otherwise, aren't they?" she mocked with a wicked smile.

Mugen scowled, "What about you? You're wearing a skirt!"

Fuu looked down at herself. It was true, she was wearing a skirt in this cold winter morning, but she was also wearing stockings and knee-high boots. Her boots were trimmed on the inside in fur with matching fur pom poms dangling from her laces. Her skirt was of gray tweed, and it went well with her black and white striped baggy sweater.

"Mugen, the skirt doesn't make a difference when I'm fully clothed. The only skin I have showing is my face and hands! You, on the other hand, have bare claves and arms."

"Like I said, I didn't think it would get this cold!"

The conversation continued this way for a while until they finally reached the front of their school. Fuu and Mugen continued to the quad, where they usually went on their separate ways until lunch.

Mugen and Fuu didn't have any classes together, and neither did Mugen with Jin. Jin and Fuu shared English and geometry together because they weren't behind like Mugen was. He was behind them in math by a year, and had to take a special English class because he had scored so low on the state tests, and had to miss out on an elective class for a special study period to get extra help. Fuu tried to tell herself that Mugen really wasn't dumb, just lazy, but that wasn't the case. He was dumb.

Fuu wasn't any one to brag about her academic career, but she hadn't done too badly. She had made a few slips here and their freshman year, but she had managed to pass all her core classes. Fuu wasn't lazy and she did all her homework and in class assignments. She was just a bad test taker, especially in math. Her SAT scores were barely average, and this year she planned on getting Jin to help her.

Jin was a completely different story. He was in honors history and science and was already in his third year of Spanish. His GPA was a 4.3. Need more be said? In the midst of all his hard work for his grades he still found time to stay out late for tournaments and sneaking out of his house. Other than that, Jin's life is that sentence in a nutshell.

Mugen on the other hand, loved to party and do drugs and women.

Fuu never did drugs but she is known for drinking every one and a while. She can't hold her liquor and she knows it. Secretly, the boys thought she was adorable when she drank. Her cheeks turned pink, her eyes got glossy to make her look she could cry at any moment. But she never did cry, only laugh and giggle randomly and skip around. Giving her alcohol was also was a great way to shut her up, since eventually she would pass out with her head slamming on top of a table somewhere.

When lunchtime finally rolled around, the three met in the cafeteria and sat at a table. Fuu opened up the conversation.

"Alright, so you guys know what's up."

"Yeah, were gonna be busy tonight watching' me kick some ass." Mugen exclaimed before stuffing himself with his share of Fuu's and his lunch.

"Right." Jin agreed.

Fuu sighed, "Good thing too, because I'm really running low on cash."

Later that night the group showed up again at the same place or the final rounds of the tournament. Mugen advanced quickly, and soon it was the final fight. His opponent was Sara.

Fuu and Mugen were confident that it would be a quick victory for him. She had advanced slowly, a few times almost losing. Jin, however, felt uneasy. It looked to him like Sara was holding back, but it wasn't just that. There was something unusual about the way she moved, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

The match started and Mugen charged her right away. She blocked casually and stepped to the side. Mugen continued his frontal assault for a while, and Sara continued blocking and sidestepping around the ring. Mugen started getting frustrated.

"What the hell?" He couldn't understand why he couldn't land a hit.

Jin was just as concerned. He knew that Sara technically had the weapon advantage; her staff had been specially designed to oppose samurai swords. But that had never been an issue for Jin or Mugen before, so why was Mugen having such a difficult time now?

"Mugen!" Jin called, "Stop her now, she's trying to tire you out!"

"What?' Fuu looked up at him.

"Right…" Mugen agreed and charged the woman in a flurry.

He used brute strength to push her back. For a few moments the two were interlocked face to face, and Mugen saw what Jin couldn't figure out.

"Holy shit!" He exclaimed, "She's blind!"

A slow gasp rose from the crowd. Jin's eyes widened as it all pieced together.

Sara narrowed her pale eyes and suddenly it was Mugen who was on the defense. It was all he could do to block and parry as she had done earlier so easily. A few minutes into their dance and he was covered in scratches in gashes in his arms and torso. Unless he did something quick she would win in points and the ref would stop the match.

The ref never did even as blood began to spatter the arena floor.

"Open your eyes ref!" Called Fuu.

She knew Mugen would never stop unless he was forced to, and at this rate he might die. By this point she didn't care about him winning or not.

"Stop the fight!" Fuu's eyes started to swell as she made the realization. "She's trying to kill him!" she shouted.

_Like hell!_ Mugen heard her shouts. He would be dambed if some blind girl were going to kill him here like this.

He waited for his opening, and small as it was, and with one good kick sent the girl flying out of the ring. There was no way that the ref could get away with not calling it.

Sara looked up at him from the floor and scowled.

They both knew that if this were outside of the ring, she very well could have killed him.

In the end Mugen won by default despite Sara's lead in points.

The battle was over but the war was not. After the prize money was awarded to Mugen the trio tried to find Sara to confront her. They knew that she must be taking orders from someone, possibly from outside of the ring. They wanted to find out and take care of it before Sara could have a chance to attack again outside of the ring.

Authors Note: This on was kind of long, sorr! I hope you still enjoyed it. Remember, I love review's!


	4. Enter the Ninja

Underground Champloo

Chapter 4: Enter the Ninja

It was the Monday after the incident with Sara, and the three were occupying a bench in front of the school.

It was after hours so their surrounding was quiet with a few stragglers. Behind them in the distance they could hear the shouts and noises of football practice, and across the street a group of students for some unknown sport were jogging.

The day was warm with a light breeze. Mugen had for once worn clothes suitable to the weather. He had on a pair of baggy jeans and flip-flops, and a tee shirt. To guard against the cold he wore a light zip up hoodie.

Jin sported blue slacks and a short sleeved checkered collared shirt. His hair was as always in a ponytail.

Fuu was wearing a loose, pink turtleneck with elbow length too-big sleeves. Her bottoms were a pair of close fitting white pants. Her shoes were matching hot pink patent leather tortoise shell 3-inch heels. Today her hair was done up in her signature bun, ornaments and all.

All three were leaning back on the bench and enjoying the quiet. Mugen had his elbows behind him, legs sprawled. Jin also leaned back, but his hands were in his pockets, and his eyes closed in thought. Fuu sucked on a strawberry flavored tootsie pop happily, her head tilted up to watch the clouds roll by.

Soon, Mugen interrupted the collective peace. "That little bitch…"He grumbled to himself. To the area in general he asked, "So what are we gonna do about that little bitch any way?"

Of course he meant Sara. Fuu took the sucker out of her mouth and Jin opened his eyes.

Fuu lowered her head and looked to Mugen, "I thought I would have something by the end of the weekend, but I don't. "

Jin looked equally doubtful.

"What do you mean?" Mugen asked. "Neither of you have a plan of action? Why don't we just go after her?"

Jin spoke up, "She doesn't attend out school, we don't know who her boss is, or even what her last name is…" He was explaining to Mugen basically that they knew nothing about her. Hence forth, they couldn't find her.

"Yeah…" Fuu agreed. "I've asked all of our contacts and none of them had any useful info."

Suddenly the group was back to their quiet contemplations. Only this time, their thoughts were a little heavier. Jin thought about the situation logically, trying to figure which next course of action would work best. The problem was that he couldn't think of any course of action. Fuu tried thinking about it from the other point of view. What would their opponent do next? She couldn't decide what to do even if she knew, because it seemed insufficient to wait for the next attack. Mugen was their last hope, and he didn't disappoint.

"I've got it!" He shouted suddenly and abruptly stood up.

Fuu gasped, "What?!"

Jin leaned forward.

"I've got just the girl for the job…" He rubbed his hands together menacingly.

Fuu and Jin looked to each other and then to Mugen.

Inside the School

"Where are you taking us?" Fuu whined. She didn't appreciate Mugen dragging her down all these hallways at such a quick pace. She was in heels after all... three-inch heels.

Mugen was too excited to stop for breath. He ignored her question and continued dashing down the hallway.

"I think he's going to the computer lab." Jin offered over his shoulder.

"The what? How does he know where that is? I don't know where that is!" Now Fuu was yelling.

A few minutes later Mugen skidded to a stop in front of a door labeled, "Computer Lab". Jin had thought that the lab would be shut down at this hour after school, but Mugen opened the door and walked in.

Inside was of course were the expected rows of black computers, but only one was on. At the other side of the room, the blue glow of a screen was detectable behind the other monitors. Mugen and Jin made their way toward the glow.

"Hey, how's it goin?" Mugen called when he reached the side of the council.

Sitting at the computer was a young girl with dark shaggy hair pulled into a high ponytail. She was a cute, with fair skin and dark eye. She sat cross-legged in her seat, hands poised at the keyboard. Despite the breeze outside, she sported navy blue, knee length cargo pants and a razorback white tank.

"Mugen!" She shouted when she realized who it was. She jumped from her seat and greeted him with a hug.

When they pulled away, Mugen made introductions. "Jin, this is my girl Yatsuha. Yatsuha, this is Jin and my boss Fuu."

"Nice to meet you, Yatsuha." Jin offered his hand.

Silence.

"Hey…" Mugen noticed something missing. "Where's the bottomless pit?"

"She must have gotten left behind…" Jin tried.

"I heard that Mugen!" Fuu barged through the door and huffed across the room. When she got to him, she pulled his face to hers by his collar, "Don't you ever do that to me again!" She released, "Sheesh…Making me run all over creation…"

"And in heels!" Yatsuha looked down at Fuu's feet.

"Exactly!"

"Oh God…" the boys sighed.

"Anyway," Yatsuha sat back down, "What's up?"

"We have a job for you." Mugen explained.

"We do?" Fuu wondered.

"Yeah, we do. This girl here is a computer whiz ninja. If she can't get us the scoop on our bat, no one can."

"Dumb straight!" Yatsuha flexed her muscles, "So, who's the target?"

In unison, Fuu, Jin and Mugen answered,

"Sara."

Authors Note: Thanks Kendra Luehr! It goes to show you how important a good review is. So...everyone should at least comment on the story, even if its your own opionin of what you expected or wanted to see happen ect. Thanks again!


	5. No Leads

Underground Champloo

Chapter 5: No Lead's

Yatsuha wasted no time in getting down to business on her new job. She was excited not only for the payment Fuu promised or to help out Mugen, but because she was investigating someone she didn't already have any information on. That was very unusual.

Her father was the police sheriff for the county and she made it her habit to hack into his database every once in a while. It was the perfect way to update herself on the happenings and doings of key people in the Underground like all the bosses and fighters, and to see who the police were trailing so she could key in her friends and key sources.

She had never come up with the name Sara before, or even the hint of a blind female fighter in the Underground Champloo. She was checking it again at the moment, 6 o' clock Monday night in her fathers office.

He had one of those traditional "library" offices that you often see in the movies. She was sitting in his tall straight back leather chair behind his long oak desk. This chair had always made her feel particularly small since when she crossed her legs, she fit perfectly between its padded arms with about an inch of space on either side. When she leaned her head back she couldn't even feel the end of the headrest at the top. Maybe it was this sense of not belonging this chair, since it was made to fit perfectly to another's form, that she always felt particularly sloothy…

As expected, but not hoped for, she found nothing. Not one criminal in her father's police database had info on a criminal with a fake alibi involving a blind woman, or a family member, or acquaintance, anything. She even reread the bios of the undercover cops and none of them were working a case as a blind woman, and there were no new recruits.

_Not that they hire blind cops…do they?_ She took a moment to lean back and think.

"I thoughr I would find my daughter in here."

When Yatsuha's father walked into his office slash study, he found her reaching on the tip of her toes for a book on the top shelf, balancing on the ladder.

"Oh, hi, daddy!" She paused from her mock literature inquiry to smile at him sweetly, and oh so innocently…

"You haven't read every book in the library yet, I see?" He asked as he made his way across the plush carpet to sit behind his computer.

"Oh, actually I'm looking for a book as a reference. Where is that one about the late Madame…" She put her fingertips to her forehead and squinted in thought.

He waved his hand to motion her across the room, "Farther down that same shelf, with the black binding?"

"Ah! Found it. Thank you daddy!" She plucked her book from its shelf and hopped down to the floor.

"Not a problem." He answered half hazarded as he turned on his computer.

Yatsuha plopped down onto a short over-stuffed chair next to the door. She opened her book and pretended to read as she worked out her monologue for her father.

"So, daddy, anything new with you? You've seemed a little stressed lately."

"Well, you know, nothing more than the usual lately."

"Oh, really? So you're just piling on the work yourself?" She raised an eyebrow at her father.

He sighed deeply and paused from his typing. "There has been some strange activity going on in the Underground."

Yatsuha leaned forward in her chair, begging for more with her eyes. These were the times she was glad to be such a daddy's girl. He felt like he could tell her anything, and often he vented his day's hassles to her.

"An assassination conspiracy has been uncovered."

"How much information do you know about it?"

"Not much, that's the problem. All we know is someone has a plan to kill someone else using a third party. We have no names, no location, no nothing."

"How can that be? How did you even find out about it then?"

"From a money trail."

"I still don't understand. How does a money trail lead you to suspect an assassination plot if you don't…"

"Honey, you know I cont tell you that much detail about a case," He grumbled this last part, "I'd probably get in trouble for even telling you that much."

Yatsuha left her fathers office about an hour or so later, unable to obtain any more information from him. She walked up the stairs to her room and tossed her book and herself onto her bed. She lay their for a while thinking on what to do.

She had no names, which meant no leads. That also meant that she didn't even know if this new development had anything to do with Mugen. She decided that if the d money trail was what had tipped of the police that was where she would have to investigate first. The only problem was she also didn't know the name of the bank…If she wanted to break into a bank it would be very difficult even if she knew someone on the inside. It would be too difficult for her. Best-case scenario she would trip the alarm and still is able to get out. The problem was she wouldn't be able to time herself because police response time was never consistent. It could take a few minutes or several. Neither amount was enough time for her to even hack into the system.

She played out all her possibilities in her head a million times each and all of them were too risky.

She grabbed her head and rolled over with a grunt in frustration.

Suddenly, it came to her. Hopping off the bed she ran across the room to the door. She continued down the hall and down the stairs to the living room. When she got to the television she opened the glass case that held all of her families movies. Bending down to the most bottom shelf, she searched the rack of videocassettes until she found the movie _Harriet the Spy_. She picked it up and walked back up stairs. Once she was back in her room, she took out the movie tape and popped open the top. Inside was a little black book. She flipped through its small pages looking through the list of names, code names, nicknames, numbers and addresses. When she found the one she was looking for she picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Susan?" She asked into the receiver.

"Yes? Who's calling?"

"This is Yatsuha."

Silence on the other line but the connection was intact.

Yatsuha let out a small, airy laugh. "So, you remember me. Good, because I need that favor now."

"What do you want?"

"Do you still work for Bank of America?"

"Huh…" She hesitated, "yes." She sighed. .

"And your position would be?"

"Head teller." Susan answered bluntly.

"What are your hours?"

"Opening at nine in the morning until closing at five in the evening Monday through Friday and we close at two on Saturdays."

"Closed on Sundays…" She thought out load. "When's the earliest you can get to a computer without being seen?"

"Tomorrow morning. Would you be able to tell me how to cover my tracks?"

"Of course."

"Alright, what do you need?"

"I'm looking for a suspicious money trail. I need you to print out all bank transactions, statements, every activity of every account in your bank and every Bank of America in…" She thought for a minute, "lets start with in the county."

"Start with? So I have to do this more than once?"

"I hope not."

"Whatever, I owe you one. I'll do it."

"Thanks Susan. I get out of school tomorrow at three, so Ill swing by before four to pick it up, ok?"

"Do you even hold an account with us?"

"No."

"I don't want to know. Be there as soon as possible, okay? I'm not very good with lying." Susan's attitude had grown agitated by this point.

"Alright, I got it. See you tomorrow!" Yatsuha said goodbye sweetly before hanging up.

She leaned back onto her bed, putting her hand behind her head. She hoped that the first try would be the last. She didn't feel like having to sweet talk or threaten any other bank workers. She was lucky that Susan really owed her because she felt that otherwise Susan probably wouldn't have done it. Yatsuha didn't blame her either, she could get into big trouble for it. Rolling over onto her stomach, she pulled the sheets over her body. Her last thoughts before falling asleep were hoping that the bank accounts would give her a lead, even though she didn't understand exactly what she was looking for.


	6. The Goods Delivered

Underground Champloo

Chapter 6: The Goods Delivered

The night was dark and cool, the wind blowing through the trees. Yatsuha made her way through the darkness, picking her way through the streets to avoid the light of street lamps.

She was wearing a black track suite with a high collar to cover half her face. To guard against the wind she did her hair up and kept her hands in her sweater pocket. She walked quickly, eager to get to Mugen's place.

The closer she got, the more things began to change around her. The streets were older, more cracked and torn. Apartment became more frequent, complexes dotting here and there. The homes were old, unattended lawns and overgrown with weeds and sick plants. Large dogs occupied chain link fenced yards on leashes of rope.

Yatsuha pulled her collar tighter around her face…She was afraid. She didn't want to get into a confrontation with any one, and she knew their would be someone out, waiting for late night travelers liker herself.

When she finally came up to the front entrance of Mugen's complex she let herself calm down a little. She was half way their. She had made it through the streets with out anyone noticing her. Inside…there was sure to be someone out.

She pressed the button for the intercom, and was directed to Mugen, "Mugen?" She asked.

"Yeah, whose this?" A gruff male voice answered.

Yatsuha sighed with relief. She didn't hear any other voices in the background.

"Its Yatsuha, will you open the gate for me?"

"Do you have information?"

"Of course I do, why would I come here other wise?"

Mugen chuckled on the other line; "I thought maybe you would have something special for me… Something amazing?"

Yatsuha groaned. She hated it when he teased her like that.

"Not tonight, sorry. I have what you came to me for, so let me in!"

"Alright, alright!"

A load buzz came from the gate door next to car gate. She walked over and pushed the door aside.

When the stair to Mugen's floor came into view, she picked up her pace to a jog. She let her guard down…

Two figures came out form the shadows on the stairs…

"Hey, pretty!" They called and whistled.

Yatsuha stood where she was, and waited for them to get closer.

When they did start to walk toward her, she saw that they weren't empty handed. They each had a baseball bat in hand.

Just as one reached a hand out to her shoulder, she grabbed it and spun around.

"Hiyaa!" She threw one over her shoulder and down onto the pavement.

"What the?" The second one lunged at her with his bat.

She stepped to the side, away from his swing and kicked hit foot out from underneath him.

From behind she heard the first making his way toward her. Jumping up she turned around and planted a foot right on nose. Once her feet hit the ground, she crouched and spun a foot across the floor behind her, again tripping the second assailant. She took his bat away from him and stood over him and his friend.

"Had enough?" She asked with a smile, slapping the bat against her left palm.

The tall one was the first to rise and make his getaway. The other was too stunned to move until his friend called to him over his shoulder.

"Lets get outa here, Joe!"

Once the two men had run away to a far enough distance, she dropped the bat and hurried up the stairs.

Mugen answered the door, "God damn, what took you so long?"

Yatsuha stepped inside and closed the door behind her. Mugen's apartment was small, but manageable. There were two bedrooms, two baths, a small kitchen, and a living room. She plopped herself down on the couch in the middle of the living room. Mugen sat on the other end.

"Well, I ran into a little trouble on my way up."

"Two guys?"

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

"David and Ted…"Mugen murmured and shook his head, "I warned them you were coming this week and not to bother you, damn idiots. They got a bad habit of harassing visitors."

Mugen grumbled all this from the couch next to Yatsuha, wearing only a pair of gym shorts. She wondered why, with all his fighting, that he didn't have a more impressive stomach than he did. He was pretty skinny too…

"Oh, you did?" Yatsuha was flattered at the idea of Mugen threatening those thugs to protect her.

"Yeah, I told them it was for their own good. But I guess they wanted to you to kick their asses."

He had been worried for their safety then…

"Any way…" she continued, "I have what you wanted."

"Yeah? What'd you find out?" Mugen leaned back into the corner of the couch.

She reached into her back pocket and pulled out a blue floppy. When Mugen took it, he looked confused.

"What's this? Why cant you just tell me what you found out about Sara, and--!"

He was cut off by Yatsuha's finger pressing up against his lips. "We can't speak of such dealing out load." She whispered into his ear.

She kept her finger to his mouth while whispering. Mugen could feel her hot breath on his neck as she spoke.

"Those two guys weren't the ones you thought they were. You're being watched and I'm being followed. Read the floppy and watch yourself." She lifted herself off him, and stood to leave.

He grabbed her hand and pulled her back down on top of him.

"Don't think that you can do something so incredibly sexy like that and then just leave!" He opened his legs and trapped her with his legs and mouth. He trailed wet kisses up her neck, making his way to her mouth.

"Mugen…" She tried to push herself away, "Oh, Mugen!" Resistance turned to lust. She embraced him in a passionate kiss.

She wanted to stay that way for a while, to be in his arms enjoying the kiss. But Mugen was always horny, and moved quickly. When he slid his hand under her shirt, she knew it was time to go.

She pulled a ninja move and slithered out of his hold.

"Not tonight, I gotta go." She chose exit by way of a window in his kitchen.

"Ahh, come on! You always say that!"

"Because you keep asking."

"Hey." He called.

She paused from the counter top, "Hmm?"

He lifted the floppy, "I thought you a were a tech whiz?"

"Yeah, but your not, right? I wanted to keep it simple. Later!" She waved over her shoulder and hooked herself to the windowsill.

"See ya."

With that, she was sliding down the side of the building on a wire. He waited for the, "cling!" at the window to let him know she made it to the bottom. He let himself relax when her footsteps receded slowly away.

As she walked Yatsuha reflected on her feelings for Mugen. She had loved him since the first time they met, when he had helped her bust a counterfeit privilage point ring at school, freshman year. His fighting skills had been amazing, his attitude refreshing. His looks werent too bad either…_flutter!_ But he didn't return the feelings. She could account for one out of three, but that wasn't enough. Even if she did give herself to him like she wanted, she would only be hurting herself. She wanted more, not just sex. Mugen would never give it to her and she would never settle.

Back at Mugen's, he got up and went to the kitchen to close the window. He made a quick look around, to check for suspicious shadows. When he saw none, he pulled down the glass and drew the shades.

He took Yatsuha's advice and took extra precaution. Before he went to his room he locked the front door.

In his room he turned on his computer and opened the floppy. Inside it had a copy of the bank statements Yatsuha had stolen from the bank. Highlighted were all of the ones pertaining to Sara, and the ones who had hired her. She had also included an explanation of the information. Which was smart, since the information was pretty complicated, what with name aliases, and wiring to accounts, and hacking and all. Along with that, and other research that Yatsuha had made, what it all added up to was amazing. Once someone had all the pieces, the puzzle wasn't really that complicated. Mugen was shocked.

He picked up his cell.

"Hey, its Mugen. Yeah, guess what? Yup…She got it!"

Authors Note: Privilage points are like currency in a class room for extra credit or for missing or late assignments. They can all have different names or looks, but usually they consist of peices of paper with the teachers signature or stamp ext.


	7. Road Trip

Underground Champloo

Chapter 7: Road Trip

"Oh, my gosh…" Fuu mumbled quietly to herself.

"Huh." Jin breathed.

Mugen sat in front of his computer screen with his two friends staring over his shoulder. He had just showed them the information from Yatsuha.

"You guys know what this means, right?" Mugen asked.

Fuu squinted, "I think so…"

"Yes." Jin answered.

"So basically," Mugen began, "we're under attack."

The gang had found out who was behind the assassination plot, and it was bigger than they had thought. A group of Bosses from San Francisco were planning to invade LA County. To do it, they decided they should thin out the opposition. One by one, they had planned on taking out the best few fighters from under each Boss. Mugen hadn't been the first, and he wouldn't have been the last. The whole scheme would have taken at least a year so as not to draw attention, before they invaded.

Fuu grew upset after processing all the information. "I can't believe that they think that they can get away with this! What do they plan on accomplishing anyway? Underground fighter done even go by territory, we're not gangs!"

"It's foolish…"

"What was that Jin?" She asked.

He didn't reply.

Mugen spoke for him, "He's just mad because they went after me first and not him." He smirked.

Jin shot his a dirty look.

"Oh, that's not true. I'm sure they would have tried to assassinate you too Jin, you just weren't fighting at the time." Fuu smiled sweetly.

Like most, Jin didn't know how to react to this double statement, so he didn't. He only nodded to let her know he heard her.

They grew quiet then, lost in thought. After several minutes of heavy silence, Mugen finally asked the question.

"So, what now?"

"I was thinking we should alert the other bosses." Jin offered.

"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing," Fuu agreed, "I mean, we can't let them continue doing what they're doing, but we can't handle them alone either."

"Yeah, alright! Here we come, San Francisco!" Mugen hooted a war call.

Fuu immediately took out her cell phone and flipped through her address book.

Jin took a step closer, "What are you doing? We can't attack them."

"No, you can't. But _we _can! Hello? Budoukiba? Yeah, I know its sudden and all…" Her voice trailed off as she left the room to do business.

Jin sighed heavily. When she had said, we, she had meant her and the other Bosses of the area. She planned on making as many phone calls as possible to her fellow Bosses and alerting them to the situation, to ask for their cooperation. Jin wondered if she would be able to recruit enough Bosses that had enough man power. Fuu only having two fighters to start with would not sound very convincing over the phone or however you put it.

What scared Jin the most, that made him the most reluctant to take direct action, was the fact of who the three enemy Bosses were. Their names were unfamiliar of course, but Yatsuha had been able to get the scoop on them. They were the three highest ranking Bosses in the city and between them Bossed the majority of the high class fighters.

_Good thing she's cute…_Jin mused. He could hear her squeal with delight in the next room. At least she had one so far…

They day dragged on and eventually it turned dark. From all of the business going on and Fuu's obsessive calling and pleading, they had all forgotten to eat.

Mugen was the first to say so, "Hey, Jin, you still got that car?"

"Of course."

"How about going to get us some food?"

Jin closed his eyes, "I have no problem with transportation, but I will not be responsible for the bill."

"Oh, yeah, I got cash." Mugen grumbled.

Fuu suddenly barged through the door with a crash. Her face was bright and interested. She could detect a hint of food a mile away.

"Take me with you Jin; we gotta make a pit stop at my house."

Jin was confused, "What for?"

"Clothes."

Jin looked her up and down. She was still in the clothes that she had worn to school; white shorts and a white scrunched tank top with pink polka dots.

"You look fine, they don't look dirty." He said.

"That's not-"

Mugen glanced over his shoulder, "Are your feet hurting you or something, so you have to change your whole outfit?" He noticed that her pink sandals had a small heel on them.

Fuu stomped a foot in frustration, "That's not it! Jin, just do as I say!" She grabbed him by the collar and pulled him away.

"Hey!" Mugen called out, "Where are ya goin for the food?"

Jin called over his shoulder as he was being led away, "Carl's Jr.?"

"Sounds good, get me the usual."

"Got it."

SLAM!

They were out the door.

Out at the car, Jin asked Fuu about the clothes.

"Well, I'm gonna need them for the trip aren't I?"

Jin sat back in his leather seat with keys in hand, "Trip?" He asked.

Fuu turned her body to him, "Well isn't it obvious? For San Francisco!"

"Are we leaving so suddenly?"

"As soon as possible…I was thinking in the morning! We would go ahead of the others."

Jin started the car slowly, "Others? How many others?"

Fuu counted on her fingers as she spoke, "Budoukiba, Kawara, Niwa brothers, and Detective Manzuo."

Jin was comforted by the numbers, but the last name confused him.

"Oh, you mean the Detective? Yeah, well we've ran into each other so often that we sort of struck up a deal together." Fuu winked, "He owes me one."

"So…He's going to cover us?"

"Pretty much."

Jin ran out of energy to question her about the plans, so they drove out of the apartment complex in silence.

After getting the food, they headed for Fuu's house. Jin was waiting in the car, so she tried to take long. She returned with one large suitcase. He helped her put it in the trunk.

"What did you tell the old couple?"

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"Well, didn't you explain about us leaving?"

"No, I come and go as I please. They know I'll be back, all my stuff is still their!"

Jin looked at her with concern. He was questioning making such a caring old couple worry needlessly.

"Hey, I left them a note!" She slammed down the trunk and walked to her door. "I'm an orphan, remember? They're not my parents." She sat down and closed the door.

"But what about your-"

"No!" Fuu shouted, "He is dead to me…"

Jin sat down in the driver's side. He looked to Fuu without picking up the keys.

Fuu looked at him out of the corner of her eyes.

"Do they not take care of you as one of their own?" He asked.

"Jin, I'm just a part time waitress for them at their downstairs restaurant! They pay me with room, board, and food. I'm sure they would help me financially any other way if I needed it, but that would be asking too much." She lowered her head. "They shouldn't get attached...Anyway! Why are you so nosy all of sudden? We still gotta go to your house!"

So Jin asked no more questions and drove to pick up his own clothes for the trip.

They had both tried to pack sensibly, since no one knew when they might be back.

When Jin got back, Fuu didn't ask about his own parents and his story, since he too, had none. He lived with his master of his dojo, but under different terms than Fuu did with the old couple. But similarly, it was practically like Fuu and Mugen lived alone. Jin's master was stricter about curfew and substances inside the building and such, but Jin was also allowed mostly the same freedom as Fuu. Jin had been allowed to leave with a simple explanation of the situation.

When the pair returned to Mugen's they found him asleep on the couch, remote in hand.

"I guess we took longer than we thought." Fuu giggled. "Should we wake him for the food?"

Jin nodded.

Fuu woke up Mugen gently and he instantly shot up at the mention of food.

As they ate, they discussed their plans to leave the next morning. They would take Jin's car of course. Fuu would book a cheap hotel, and inform Yatsuha to make plans about their absences at school.

Mugen was excited. Jin was still apprehensive. Fuu was rather passive. She was just doing what she felt she must. She and her guys were the only ones with information of the situation and it was her responsibility to inform the other Bosses. If she were to not take direct action against the assailants as well, she, Jin, and Mugen would lose face.

After eating it was time to sleep. They would have a long trip ahead of them, and it was already late. Mugen slept in his bed, Fuu took the coach, and Jin was left with the floor. None of them slept as well as they would have liked, but that was to be expected. The next morning held great uncertainty and adventure. It would their first time confronting Underground fighters from another area outside of a tournament, and anything could be expected. Fuu was of course the most cautious despite her forth right attitude. It was an unfamiliar city where no one knew who she was. If she were to get separated from Jin and Mugen, she would practically be defenseless. Fuu was resourceful, but she wasn't a fighter. If fists flew she would be screwed and she knew it. It was imperative for her to stay in close contact with the guys or one of her fellow Bosses and their fighters.

One might suggest carrying a gun, but that was just as dangerous. She _could _use a gun, she had practiced. The problem was the noise, mess, cost, and availability. If she were to fire at someone, especially in a city, someone was bound to be alerted. If she succeeded in defending herself, the mess left behind would discriminate against her. To get a gun and keep bullets would be expensive, and the money was better spent elsewhere. To obtain a gun in the first place would be more trouble than she was willing to go through when considering the earlier stated risks and problems. Even just carrying a gun to scare people off was risky. But the biggest reason why she and most other people in her situation in her business chose not to carry fire arms was because of image. If a boss carried one, it showed that they didn't trust their own fighters for protection, or other Bosses not to attack them. That would bring dishonor and insult other Bosses. The Underground was a place to prove physical strength, not fire power.

The next morning Jin was the first to wake up. He was aroused by the sunlight that was shining on his face from the kitchen window. His eyes flickered and he slowly opened them. He pushed himself up on an elbow and rubbed his eyes with a grown.

"Fuu?" He asked.

He sat up and turned around to look at the couch. Fuu was still there, and still fast asleep. She had thrown off her blanket in the middle of the night, and she had turned to her side with her head in the opposite direction. From this angle her left hip bone protruded quite a bit, with her left hand draped across. Her other arm was hanging off the side of the coach. She had worn a tanktop and flannel pants, and both had receded to expose her flat tummy.

Jin smiled at the sight of her pink, open mouth softly passing air in and out. He giggled quietly at her messy brown hair framing her face.

Jin loved the sight of her when she was like this. He loved her all around, but not romantically. He had known Fuu for a while now, and was closer to her than most people his own age or close to it. He was fascinated by her for all her cuteness. Her temper, her sleeping, the way she dressed and the way she laughed and walked. His affection for her was the same that a brother might show for a little sister. He might now admit it verbally to her or anyone else, but Jin loved Fuu. There were few people he could admit he loved like family, and she was one of the privileged ones.

Daring not to move more muscle than he must, Jin extended a hand to Fuu's face. Tentatively he stroked her cheek with the back of his fingers. He slowly passed from cheek to forehead, and then passed a hand through her soft hair. Her hair was the softest he knew. Fuu often teased him for his own soft and shiny hair, but stroking his own hair never even reminded him of hers.

Then he put his hand to her shoulder and pushed, "Fuu, it's time to get up."

"Hmm…" She moaned.

He removed his hand as she lifted her fists to rub her eyes.

"What time is it?" She asked.

Jin looked at the clock, "Almost seven."

"Alright, can you wake Mugen please?" She sat up and yawned.

Jin nodded.

He rose from his sleeping bag, walked to Mugen's bedroom door, and knocked.

"Mugen? Mugen..." Jin realized that calling the sleeping rock would not work. He sighed and walked into his room. He went to the side of his bed and put a hand on Mugen's shoulder. "Mugen, wake up!" He called.

"Hn?" Mugen groaned without moving.

Jin's eyebrows furrowed, "Wake up!" He yelled.

"What!?" Mugen shot up in bed. In the same motion he swung an arm out toward Jin.

Jin dodged it easily, but was unaware of the notebook behind him…

"Ai!" Jin's foot slid with the paper and he fell backwards. He tried to catch himself, but the closest thing he could grab were the sheets to Mugen's bed.

Mugen was an active sleeper, and had managed to cocoon himself in the middle of the night. So Jin did not succeed in stopping his fall. Instead he managed to pull Mugen out of bed.

"Oof!" Mugen landed on top of Jin with a thud.

Fuu heard the noise and became alarmed, bursting though the doorway.

"What was that?" She surveyed the room and found the two young men in a heap together on the floor. "What are you doing?!" She squealed.

"Get…off me…" Jin tried to contain himself.

Mugen rubbed his head and got to his feet with some effort. He was still half asleep, even now. He looked down at Jin and cocked his head in question.

"What the hell did you do?" He asked Jin.

Jin got to his feet as well and ignored the question. "It's time to get ready." He said and left the room.

Fuu watched him as he stepped past her through the doorway. Then she turned to Mugen and scowled, "You two are so moronic…the day has barley started and you two are already at it!"

Mugen yawned, "Nice hair."

"Erg, I just woke up! Leave me alone!" And she stormed off.

After that the morning was a flurry of activity. Everyone was dressing, packing, and eating. Fuu dressed simply and quickly so as to make enough time to make the guys breakfast. She thought about getting something on the road, but that would cost money.

The breakfast was simple and fast; scrambled eggs and toast. No one complained, Jin because he hardly complained about anything but Mugen, and Mugen because it was his food.

Even Momo was fed, with a quick handful of pellet food.

Finally, everyone was ready and they started down the stairs to Jin's car. The boys brought the luggage and pack them into the car. Half way through, however, they ran into a problem with room. Jin's car wasn't very big and the trunk was small. Some of the luggage would have to be stored in the backseat with someone. The lucky person was Fuu…

"This is ridiculous!" Fuu accused from the back seat, "Why do I have to be smashed among all the luggage and crap?!"

Mugen hushed a laugh from the passenger side front seat, "Your finally where you belong, little girl."

"Oh!" Fuu growled.

Jin shook his head, "Don't tease her."

When Mugen turned around he could no longer contain his laughter…The site of her small form crushed between two mounds of luggage was hilarious. The luggage was on either side of her and at her feet, so she her current position had her limbs sprawled out. She looked rather disheveled with her pony tail messy, her green cargo shorts, and cropped hooded tee.

"Good thing you dressed so skimpy, because it might get hot back there." He teased.

"Oh, hush before I put you back here!" She retorted.

"We couldn't if we wanted to, Fuu." Jin corrected.

"Why?" She whined.

Mugen turned around again, "Because you're the only one who can fit!"

Fuu sighed and resigned herself to her fate.

After that was settled, Jin started the car and pulled out of the complex. They had only gone a few blocks before the complaining started.

Mugen burst out, "What is that sound?!"

Jin was startled, "What sound?"

"That jingling shit…Its you!" He pointed to the backseat in the review mirror.

"What?" Fuu pretended innocence.

"What is that noise your making?"

"Oh, this?" She raised an arm and shook.

"Yes! Take all those bracelets off right now!"

She did have quite a lot of jewelry on today. She had dressed casually in street clothes, but she couldn't resist compensating with edgy accessories. Both hands sported an array of jelly, jangly, rope bracelets and multiple rings and her ears had silver hoop earrings. Her bangs were held back with pink and sparkly clips and bobby pins. For the occasion of showing off her tummy, she sported a pink butterfly dangly navel ring.

"No way, I like them." Fuu folded her arms stubbornly.

And so the arguing went on. Fuu eventually won of course, using the cramped space to her advantage to block herself away from him. Also a good kick to the head didn't hurt…Her that is.

"God dam it that hurt! Fine, just try not to move too much!"

"Shouldn't be hard…" Fuu murmured.

Jin was ready to smack himself unconscious but luckily they came to a stop. The day was sunny and warm with little traffic. The three occupied themselves with the radio, chatting and playing games. The day would continue much like this, until they would arrive at their destination about six hours later.


	8. Welcome to San Francisco

Underground Champloo

Chapter 8: Welcome to San Francisco

Sara strolled casually down the busy streets of San Francisco, feeling her way with her cane toward the piers. Being so close to the water made the air cooler, and the smell of salt was a constant. People flocked here for the shops, restaurants, sea lions and street performers. Despite all these sensatory distractions, Sara was not deterred. Once crossing the street to the piers, she turned right. Passing the smell of crab cakes and alcohol was her first sign. She continued forward until she came to the sound of squealing children spinning of the jumper, she went to the other side of it until coming to a wooden bench. She knew that next to the bench would be her messenger.

"Mugen and his crew have come to San Francisco." The man who spoke to her was posing as a street performer, covered in silver paint and metal trinkets. He kept his metal man appearance by practicing ventriloquism.

"Oh?" She asked.

"A fighter will come for you to take care of him."

"And of the others?"

"He will explain the rest."

So Sara waited on her bench until a young man with rolling muscles came to fetch her. He offered her his hand and she took it with a smile. Acting was a large part of her job…

He walked her back the way they had come, smiling as they walked to keep the appearance of friendship.

"They left early this morning, so they'll be arriving my tomorrow, depending on their travel plans. A projected area of their lodging is in progress, and once established you and two explosive operators will raid their room upon arrival."

Sara mulled the plan over for a minute. She agreed that they could expect them to sooner than tomorrow morning, and that was if they drove top speed nonstop. To strike when they were most vulnerable, just upon arrival, would mean that she and her group would have to be mobilized at the target area just as soon.

"What about the other man? He competes in the Underground as well."

"He and the girl will probably show up on the list later, so if they die it won't matter. Boss just wants the number to climb slowly."

"And what of the other Bosses? Surely, they must be aroused by Lady Fuu's sudden movements if she has not already alerted them."

"I was not told the whether the other Bosses are aware of our plan or Fuu's activity, and I do not know what Boss would have us do. Those are your orders, the other two will contact you later." With that the man took his arm away from her and turned away to got the opposite way.

It seemed to Sara that most of her time was spent waiting on others…for others…only for moments of intense action in order to kill or nearly killing someone. She was a patient woman, in her area there was no better stealth fighter. The only thing that saved Sara from feeling like a chained dog was being able to be a neighborhood dog. She would rather be able to wander freely from Boss to Boss, but still be a dog, rather than a dog tied to one yard. In her profession, she felt she was luckier than most.

"Alright, were finally here!" Mugen hopped out of the car a yell, stretching his arms above his head.

Jin stepped out calmly, "Mugen, don't run off just yet." He had read his friends mind, and all three knew it. Despite Mugen's persistent boasting of his strength, he rarely took advantage of occasions outside of fights to demonstrate it.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll help carry the luggage after I take a piss…" He turned to book it.

Before he could take his first step, Fuu stuck her head out of the sun roof from the back seat of the car, "Hey! Help Jin you lazy ass!"

"Language! You're in public ya know?" He scampered off before she could crawl out of the car by her only means possible.

"Erg, now I _have _to crawl through the damn sun roof…" She complained as she did so.

Jin had yet to move, "How are you doing that?"

Fuu ignored his curiosity and called for him to help her off the top of the car. She slid off and he caught her around the middle with his hands and stood her up.

Fuu helped Jin with the luggage, since there was no one at the hotel to help them, it being old and cheap. They went up to the front desk to check in, only to find the job already done for them.

"What?!" Fuu squealed, "You gave our room away?"

"No, your friend already did it, don't you listen?"

"Oh, well you didn't say that! You only told me that the room had already been checked out!"

"Our misunderstanding." Jin apologized and led a seething Fuu away.

"The nerve of that guy! I knew he was getting out of work, but I mean he was planning on going straight to the room anyway!"

Jin had to walk on the opposite side of the hallway from Fuu in order to avoid her flailing arms. She was a fan of large mannerisms…

"Shouldn't you be just as upset as me, if not more, Jin?"

"I pick my battles…"

"Pft…"

Jin gave her a sideways glance, "If he had been forced to help us, he would have simply complained the entire time. This way is much quieter."

"You think so?" Fuu was aware of her own noise, just not concerned.

Jin understood her meaning, "It's better one small girl, than two large men, isn't it?"

"First of all, since you just admitted that otherwise you would have fought with him, that phrase, 'I pick my battles,' does not apply. Second, in the end I would have chimed in too, about you two annoying me, so it would have been all three of us so I have to admit that it is better this way. And third, why are you two, 'men,' while I am a, 'girl,'?"

Jin blinked at her. It was a lot to take in, and Jin closed his eyes for a moment to process it all.

"Alright," he began, "I admit I fight with Mugen a lot, so I am just as guilty as he is. Oh, and your too petite and childlike to fit the idea of a woman."

"Humph…" She took a minute to pout, "Then can you refer to yourself and Mugen as boys?"

"No."

Fuu's cheeks flushed with anger, "Why not?!"

"Because we're not boyish."

"Whatever…I guess the longer that I'm considered girlish the slower I'll age physically…"

"Don't worry about it; some men don't like womanly girls."

"What like pedophiles?"

"Um, no…that's not what I meant."

Fuu giggled, "Oh, I know, I'm just giving her a hard time. Hey, stop! This is our door."

When they stepped inside, they found a comfortable Mugen watching TV.

"Oh, hey guys! I woulda helped but I didn't just have to go pee—"

"It's fine! Don't worry about it…" Fuu sat down next to him on the bed.

Jin sat on the edge of the other after positioning the luggage by the side of the door.

"Oh, I almost forgot," Mugen dug a hand into a side pocket and took out Fuu's wallet, "here."

"Thanks, I –Hey! What the hell is this?" She stood and held up the Monokuro Boo wallet as if it were incriminating evidence.

"Umm…Your wallet?" Mugen played dumb.

"I _know _that! What the hell are you doing with it?"

Jin was also curious, "So that's how he paid for the room…"

"Exactly, how else was I supposed to take a piss?"

"Err!" Fuu bawled up her fists in frustration. "Whatever…" She almost dropped the issue, before thinking to check the content for theft.

While she rummaged, Mugen remembered something else.

"So, Jin, you're sleeping with the girl.'

"What?"

"Yeah, they're only two beds and I'll end up killing her while we sleep or something." Mugen explained while flipping channels, the issue seeming to him simple and only worth half his attention.

Jin, on the other hand, felt otherwise.

"I'm not sleeping with her."

"Why not?"

"Because, it's…inappropriate…" he stammered.

"What? Because you—"

Fuu interrupted, "Because you two will be sleeping together."

The men fell silent. Momentarily, of course, before they each burst out in their own way.

Mugen shot up and started cursing and yelling about how there was no way in hell. Jin made a sour face, which was a sharp contrast from his usual non expressing one, and grumbled his complaints.

Fuu grinned. She knew the only reason why Mugen had started the argument in the first place was to avoid this outcome that he had suspected was what she would want. He was wrong however, in thinking that if Jin accepted that they would get off the hook.

"Why do we only have two beds anyway?" Mugen asked.

"Because it's cheaper than a second room." Fuu answered calmly.

"Then why can't you sleep on the floor?"

Fuu only had to look at him.

"If neither of you wants to so badly-"

"_I'll_ sleep with you." Mugen threw up his hands in defeat.

"Then one of you," Fuu continued, "will have to sleep on the floor."

_Cricket: chirp, chirp! Chirp…_

"You two are such babies! What is so wrong with sleeping on the floor?"

"Why don't _you _sleep on the floor?" Mugen asked.

Fuu folded her arms and gave a death glare.

The two were satisfied with her answer. She was the one that fed them after all; you couldn't enter an Underground fight without a Boss.

In the end, Fuu decided that Jin would get to sleep in the bed, since he was the one that drove all day. Once that was taken care of, the group started getting ready for bed. Fuu was second in line for the shower after Jin, who had now gone downstairs to the vending machine for sodas.

The room was small, the two twin beds barley fitting in the room with a small bedside table between them. The shower and toilet were together, and separated from the rest of the room by a thin door. As an effect, Mugen continued talking to Fuu despite her current activity.

"So, how long are we gonna have to be here, anyway?" He complained.

"Oh, I don't know. No more than a few days I hope."

"You hope? What are we waitin on?"

"On the other Bosses from the Underground, remember?"

There was no answer. Fuu paused from rinsing her hair of shampoo to strain her ears. There was a swooshing of curtains being pulled aside, and a low grumble from Mugen.

She asked and turned off the water.

She heard stomping and suddenly Mugen's face was in front of her.

"Aah! What are you doing??

He threw a towel at her, "Get out, now."

Outside Jin in the hallway, Jin was now returning with one diet Cherry Coke, a Nestea and Dr. Pepper. He walked slowly, distracted by counting the change in his and Fuu's wallet. He had taken hers because she had small enough bills for the machine. Between the two of them, he calculated that they should have enough money for food all of tomorrow, and half of the next day.

Jin was brought out of his mental mathematics by an approaching figure. They had caught his attention by the strange way that they kept one hand to wall. He had thought maybe they were in need of assistance, but he soon found the reason behind it.

"Sara." He whispered.

Sara stopped and took her hand away from the wall. She stood across from him, head lowered and eyes blank. Her face was hidden by hair; the only animation from her was the fluttering of her long skirt.

The room was only a few doors away; Jin thought that only if he could get past Sara…

"I can't let you get to that door, Jin."

"You would face someone who is without a weapon?"

"This confrontation is not on my behalf, so my own morals are of no consequence."

Jin stiffened as Sara's hand reached behind her back. She pulled her naginata in front of her, and took her stance.

Jin would have been extremely worried up to this point, if he hadn't seen the flutter of activity from his room window.

"Where did we park, again?" Mugen asked Fuu, who was only clad in nothing more but a small white towel.

"Umm, right below us in the parking lot, its right at the end of the hallway."

"That's what I thought, let's go! Mugen grabbed their bags and swords, grabbed Fuu by the wrist and went out the door.

Fuu was not happy, "What are you doing?!"

Mugen burst out of the door and threw Jin his sword.

Jin caught his sword and unsheathed it in a fluid motion, and took the opportunity of Sara's confusion to pin her against the wall and hurry past.

She continued after him, and caught him on the shoulder with her blade. Jin stumbled and turned to block a second swing.

Mugen continued down the hallway without turning around, still pulling Fuu behind him. She hung on to the top of her towel for dear life, not knowing what would happen next.

Just before jumping over the railing, Mugen grabbed Fuu around the waist.

Fuu was terrified, "What-no! Aah!"

The pair and their luggage went falling through the air onto the hood of Jin's car, denting it slightly.

The noise of their fall was quickly followed by an explosion. Jin and Sara came tumbling on top of them.

The group was in shock, dirty and hurting all over. They lay where they were for a while, massaging sore limbs and groaning in pain.

A young boy and his mother walked past the scene on the sidewalk.

The boy asked, "Mommy, what are they doing?"

The mother looked, saw the practically naked Fuu and heard all the groaning and wouldn't answer. She hurried her son along.

The gang eventually came to their senses and rolled off the car. They looked around for Sara and found her underneath a pile of debris. When they pulled the wood and plaster off of her, they found that she was unconscious. The three looked from one to the other, unsure of what to do. Sirens and horns were heard off in the distance…

OctoberMourning here, sorry for such a long delay again. Ive been busy, what with summer fun and what not.

Drop me a line or a review and let me know how you like the story so far. Mistakes I missed would be appreciated.

Hope you enjoyed, later!


	9. Princess of Death

Samurai Champloo

Chapter 8: Princess of Death

After their exciting day the group relocated to a new hotel, on the other side of town. This time, they were not alone. One of the other Bosses from LA had finally arrived and offered their support to Fuu. She and the boy's were given a room to themselves that joined to their allies'. Inside, they were busy interrogating their new lead.

Sara was bound to a chair by her wrists and ankles. In front of her, Fuu was kneeling, looking at her keenly. At Sara's sides were Jin and Mugen.

Fuu let out a load sigh, "Alright, let's take a break guys." She bowed her head and stood up to stretch her limbs.

She heard no argument, as it would soon be daylight, having gone through the night with now results in the way of confession from Sara.

The boys retired to beds (their now being two), and Fuu set up camp on the bed unfurling from the coach. Next to her was the still tied up Sara.

Sitting on the edge of her bed in a pair of pink pajamas, Fuu turned to her helpful fellow Boss, Sousuke Kawara.

"You can go now, I'm fine." She smiled.

"Oh, uh, are you sure?" He scratched his head.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Hey, thanks for all your help. I don't know what we would have done without you!" Fuu smiled sincerely.

Sousuke smiled back and blushed slightly. He bowed his way out through the door joining their rooms.

Fuu sighed again, and looked back to Sara.

Now that she had the woman that they had been looking for tied up in front of her, she should feel at least accomplished if not happy. But Fuu felt sad…She was an empathetic person and couldn't help but think back to all the times she herself had been kidnapped. Sara was captured by enemies, surrounded by skilled swordsmen, and in the presence of two commanding bosses.

Though both Fuu and Sousuke were young, it would be a mistake for anyone to take them lightly. Despite their age, they both commanded skilled fighters.

Fuu and the others had spent all night trying to pry information out of Sara. She hadn't answered any of their questions about where her employers were, or what they planned to do next. The only information they had were the names that Yatsuha had scrounged up before…

The thought of the ninja brought Fuu back to reality, as she remembered the shadow outside the window.

"It's alright now Yatsuha, you can come in now, the boys are asleep by now."

There was a moment's pause before the screen was ripped open, the window slid up, and the curtains pulled aside. In walked the ninja.

Fuu scanned her up and down and tilted her head in exasperation.

"I understand the color, and the close fitness, but why the leather and fishnet?" Fuu, being fashionable herself, couldn't help but take notice of the ninja's provocative costume.

Yatsuha blinked and looked herself over while standing in front of the fluttering curtains.

She wore mid length fishnet gloves, and a black leather short shorts body suit. It zipped up from her stomach to her neck, and the sleeves were short. Her face was disguised by an eye mask.

"What?" She shrugged her shoulders and took a seat at the small table by the window across from Fuu and Sara.

"You look more like a thief than a ninja…" Fuu pondered.

Yatsuha giggled, "Yeah, but I look sexy, right?"

"If you're into that." Fuu teased.

The girls shared a laugh but soon grew quiet and serious.

Yatsuha gestured to Sara, "So this is the assassin?" She asked.

Fuu nodded.

"She isn't gagged…has she talked?"

Fuu shook her head.

Yatsuha got up from her seat and walked over to Sara. She lifted her head, which had been drooped and silent this whole time. She contemplated torture, but Fuu refused.

"You realize that this is the woman that has tried to kill you and your friends on more than one occasion right? She works for people trying to take over you and all the other Bosses of LA!" the ninja was growing impatient with Fuu.

Fuu hushed her and gestured to the sleeping men. "I know, but she only did what she was told. It's her job…I've dealt my fair share of deception and pain to others…we're not that different is all I'm saying."

Suddenly, the silent assassin spoke, "Why?" She asked.

Fuu looked at her questioningly, "Why what?"

"Why would you show me mercy? I might even call it compassion…" She stared blankly in front of her.

"Compassion?"

"You never gagged, threatened, or were rough with me. Now you won't let this ninja torture me…why do you care? I am the enemy."

Fuu stammered for an explanation, "Because well…I guess I know how you feel right now…being alone and captured by people who you know want something from you."

"Do you mean me harm?"

"No, I just want answers."

Sara lowered her head once again. Her hair fell to cover her face.

Fuu and Yatsuha could sense her deliberation.

"What will you do with me if I tell you?" Sara questioned suspiciously.

Fuu was taken aback, she hadn't thought that far ahead, and told Sara so. Sara grew quiet again for a while, and Fuu took the time to really think on Sara's question. Would she let her go free? She thought that would seem foolish…But she couldn't kill her, Fuu wasn't like that. Fuu knew she had to come to a decision, or else someone else who cared far less would decide for her.

"How old are you?" Fuu asked.

Sara answered without movement, "Twenty one…"

"What does that matter?" Yatsuha looked at Fuu sternly…she sensed what was next.

"Well, she's too old to go to school with us…But I was thinking about taking her in as a new fighter." She paused, but Sara said nothing. "Would that be fair? This can't be the life you want, Sara. Full of fighting and deceit, death around every corner."

"Death…no one can escape that, especially not me, the Princess of Death."

Yatsuha and Fuu looked at each other, and asked Sara to explain.

Yatsuha was now on the same page as Fuu about Sara. Their plan was to make Sara realize how little she had to gain by keeping quiet about her employers and their plans. Fuu did actually plan to sign Sara, if all went well. She sensed the good in her.

Sara went on to explain, "Sara means princess, and I am a skilled killer. I wasn't always an assassin, but even before that, death was everywhere. We will all die someday."

"But you don't have to be the cause of it for others, Sara!" Fuu consoled, "Your right about not escaping death, but you can escape this life…You don't have to do this forever."

Sara tilted her head, "I thought all Bosses were the same; selfish and insensitive to their fighters. But you seem different."

"I am." Fuu agreed, "I really care about my fighters, and I would never make them kill for me or commit crimes…Me, Mugen and Jin make money off the ring, but we don't plan on being there our whole lives. LA is different from this area; most of our fighters live double lives, or leave the ring when they leave adolescence."

Yatsuha nodded, "That's right. It's more of a hobby, unless they go on to be Bosses. Some go on to other sports, teaching martial arts, performing, movies, or make a career in fighting legally."

"You could do that too, Sara, any of that. I can help you, Yatsuha and Mugen or Jin will help you. You just have to prove yourself and help us prevent the bloodshed that's sure to happen unless you tell us everything."

Sara sighed deeply…Once she was sure of Fuu's sincerity; she agreed to tell them everything they needed to know.

She confirmed the Boss who they had suspected from the beginning, Nagatomi Rikiei, a ruthless and ambitious Boss of the San Francisco Underground. He had a large number of fighters under him, and the ones closer to him in rank were supposed to be the best around. He was looking to expand his area of influence, and planned to attempt a sort of takeover in the LA Underground. This way, he could set up two separate teams and compete in two cities. This was not how the Underground worked, since that would give someone a higher chance of making it to the state finals. It seemed like he planned on using brute force and scaring away the other LA Bosses, so no one would oppose him in his rule breaking.

Fuu was outraged, even more than before when she thought this was simply to strut his stuff. Now he was doing it for his own gain, and using his fighter's lives to do it. This was the worst kind of man Fuu knew; a man with an ego and no concourse.

One might expect Fuu to be used to this type of human in her line of work. The difference was that most fighters had their own code they lived by, or followed their Bosses. No matter how twisted or unintelligent the code of honor, conduct, or manner of killing it may be, it always set limitations that allowed justice to win over in the end. Not with this man. He was in it only for himself. His code was for money, name and territory.

Fuu swore then, that she could never allow this to happen. If there was any one in LA with enough balls to stop this man, it was be Fuu and her boys.


End file.
